Ice is not averse to deception

Sun Bing woke up at around 10 a.m. the next day.

Sun Bing had just woken up, while Liu Qiang was also preparing to leave. He had been searching for Dong Mei for two days, but hadn't gotten any useful clues. However, Liu Qiang didn't give up. He knew that only by finding Dong Mei's address and bringing the conflict between Liu Ruo and Dong Mei to the surface would Liu Ruo completely give up on Sun Bing, allowing him to successfully marry his rich brother-in-law and reach the pinnacle of life.

As they were leaving, Liu Qiang suddenly said to Liu Ruo, "Guess who I saw yesterday?"

"Who?" Liu Ruo asked suspiciously.

"Tiger. I wonder what he's doing in Yanji? Could he be here to see Sun Bing like we are?"

Although he said that, Liu Qiang was just joking. He had no idea that Sun Bing had borrowed money from Tiger. He was just teasing him.

What he didn't notice was that Liu Ruo's expression clearly became somewhat uncomfortable when she heard the name "tiger".

Liu Ruo knew that Sun Bing had borrowed 100,000 yuan in high-interest loans from Tiger. Although he didn't know about Tiger's debt collection efforts, Tiger had a bad reputation in Bingcheng. Liu Ruo also knew that Tiger was no good person and felt that his sudden appearance in Yanji must have something to do with Sun Bing.

Even though Liu Ruo felt that Sun Bing had become a heartless man in her heart, she was still worried about his situation.

After Liu Qiang left, Sun Xiaoni noticed that something was wrong with Liu Ruo and quietly followed behind her.

Sure enough, Liu Ruo went into the bathroom and didn't come out for a long time. Sun Xiaoni eavesdropped by pressing her ear against the door and heard a constant dial tone coming from the phone, as if she was calling someone, but the other party never answered.

Sun Bing had already woken up and felt a bit dizzy from drinking too much. He instinctively picked up his phone to check the time as soon as he got out of bed, only to realize that his phone was switched off.

To avoid being disturbed, Sun Bing did not turn on the machine. He only glanced at the clock on the wall and realized that it was already 10:30.

I got up, washed up, and bought soy milk and fried dough sticks from a breakfast stall. Just as I was about to eat, I suddenly realized something was wrong.

Normally, when he returned from buying food, Wu Dayong would rush over immediately, his alertness comparable to that of a strong, wild dog. But today was strange; Sun Bing hadn't seen Wu Dayong for quite some time.

Sun Bing didn't pay too much attention to it at first. After all, it was perfectly reasonable for a big boss like Wu Dayong to have some tricky things to deal with.

Sun Bing noticed Wu Dayong's unusual behavior, noticed that the fried dough sticks for breakfast today were not as crispy as yesterday, and even noticed that the withered potted plant on the stone platform at the entrance had been moved, but she did not notice the ice sculpture that had disappeared from the workbench in the studio.

  

Having finished his work, Sun Bing was in high spirits. After having breakfast, he put on his coat and went out.

Having been in Yanji for some time, Sun Bing hadn't had a chance to properly appreciate the scenery. Although it was winter and there wasn't much to see, as an ice sculptor, his instinctive love for the cold still led him to the riverbank.

There's a river near the train station, the Yanji moat, which is very wide and long, and is one of Yanji's landmark buildings. Although Yanji's economic development isn't great, barely qualifying it as a fourth-tier city, its environment is much better than Harbin's.

Located directly south of Changbai Mountain, half of Yanji is within a nature reserve, and the entire city is lush and green, especially in spring.

Swaying gently, Sun Bing arrived at the moat and went down the steps to the water.

The temperature has dropped below zero, and the lake has begun to freeze, but due to the mild winter, the ice layer is only thin and cannot even support fallen tree branches.

Sun Bing couldn't help but sigh, "Let it get even colder, then everything will be solved."

Just as he was feeling sentimental, he looked up and saw several familiar figures approaching him on the bridge not far away.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a tiger and his henchmen.

For some reason, Sun Bing was completely unaware that these people were looking for him, and instead wondered why they were there.

Out of curiosity, Sun Bing followed them from a distance.

More than two hours passed as they followed them. Tiger and his group seemed to have a clear goal. They hurried through the park and headed straight for the train station.

The four or five people were divided into three groups, and they all went to hotels and inns.

"Are they looking for someone?" Sun Bing was still a little puzzled, thinking that whoever Tiger could personally come forward must be a big shot.

While Sun Bing was at a loss, Wu Dayong had already found Zheng Jie with his ice sculpture.

Because he lacked the environment and equipment to store ice sculptures at home, Zheng Jie contacted Chen Li in advance and took his work directly to the ice and snow world. Chen Li also wanted to see what kind of works Sun Bing, whom Zhang Defa called his beloved apprentice and who was also a new generation inheritor of ice sculpture skills, could create, so she agreed.

Soon, the three of them met in the ice sculpture exhibition hall of the Ice and Snow World.

Since the park hasn't opened yet, there are only a few ice sculptures on display. Furthermore, the latest ice sculpture competition in Yanji is just a week away, and ice sculptors from all walks of life are actively preparing their works; apart from a few staff members, there are practically no people in the exhibition hall.

Upon entering, Wu Dayong became momentarily nervous upon seeing Chen Li. With his intelligence and the aid of his knowledge of fraud psychology, Wu Dayong felt that dealing with Zheng Jie should be no problem, but the addition of Chen Li brought a bit more uncertainty.

"How's it? Not bad?"

Seeing Chen Li approach, Zheng Jie seemed to be showing off and directly led Chen Li to the artwork.

Although Chen Li didn't get to become Zhang Defa's apprentice and a professional ice sculptor, her aesthetic sense remains sharp after working in the world of ice and snow for so many years. She's even one of the main judges for the annual art competitions.

Seeing the work before her, Chen Li was still quite shocked, first and foremost by Sun Bing's extraordinary skill. The ice sculpture was not large, only a little over sixty centimeters in length, making it a small ice sculpture. However, the details were exquisitely depicted, so much so that the texture and veins on each finger were perfectly displayed, and even the finest hairs, only a few millimeters long, were rendered with remarkable detail.

As one of the judges for the ice sculpture competition, Chen Li, who had seen so many works, was instantly captivated by Sun Bing's skill.

"Not bad, right?" Judging from Zheng Jie's tone, it was as if the work was his own, full of pride.

"It's more than just good," Chen Li said as she carefully admired the work. "There are so many ice sculptors in Yanji, but this is the first time I've seen such a stunning piece. His skills are absolutely top-notch."

Chen Li was drawn to the artwork, but what truly moved him was not the skill level displayed in the work, but the theme it expressed.

A child with smiling faces, his feet bound by chains. A middle-aged man struggling to move forward, carrying a huge rock on his shoulder. And an elderly man who still insists on working despite his advanced age.

The three age groups depicted in the work seem to be shrouded in some kind of predicament or even curse. Yet, despite being such a "tragic" work, it does not evoke any sense of pessimism.

After looking at it carefully for a long time, Chen Li finally saw through the "trick". In each part of the work, the author added some elements that instantly fill people with hope and motivation, such as wild grass that still grows hard even when trampled underfoot, and a big tree that remains tenacious despite being blown by the wind.

Chen Li's affirmation of the work gave Wu Dayong, who was standing next to her, some confidence. Since Chen Li, the operations manager of the ice and snow world and also a judge, had said so, it would be unreasonable for Zheng Jie to say it didn't meet the standards.

But that wasn't the problem. Seeing that Zheng Jie and Wu Dayong seemed to have something to say, Chen Li quickly left the scene.

But then Zhengzhi raised a point that Sun Bing couldn't handle: "According to Zhang Defa's last wishes, I can only hand over this precious legacy he left to you if both you and Sun Bing are present. You should call Sun Bing here as well."

Hearing Zheng Jie's words, Wu Dayong instantly tensed up. He knew, of course, that if Sun Bing was here, he wouldn't be able to keep the inheritance for himself. Furthermore, even if he was willing to split the inheritance equally with Sun Bing, once Sun Bing arrived, she would easily discover that Wu Dayong had been deceiving him.

The more he thought about it, the more conflicted and troubled he became. Before he knew it, Wu Dayong was sweating profusely.

He could only pretend to take out his phone to contact Sun Bing in an attempt to deceive Zheng Jie.

Unexpectedly, Zheng Jie immediately asked, "What's wrong? Can't get in touch with Sun Bing? Or...?"

Looking at Zheng Jie's serious expression, Wu Dayong felt his heart was about to jump out of his chest.